Berger 130gr VLD hunting in a 260?
- Thread starter justinp61
- Start date
I have not shot anything but paper, not my rifle but I loaded for it. The 130 Berger got a bad review by my buddy. From his description not expanding well.
I suggested either the 123 or the 129 Hornady and in my rifle the 129 is IMO perfect for deer sized game but I push them harder in my 6.5x55. He went with the 123 SST Hornady and hasn't said anything negative.
I suggested either the 123 or the 129 Hornady and in my rifle the 129 is IMO perfect for deer sized game but I push them harder in my 6.5x55. He went with the 123 SST Hornady and hasn't said anything negative.
Not a 6.5, but the VLDs my daughter & i used worked exactly as advertized.
Daughters was 115gr, 25 caliber out of my 257 Roberts. Shot was about 70 yards.
"He just kinda puffed up, went straight legged, and fell over".
Broadside entrance hole. Both lungs & heart utterly destroyed. Found jacket under offside hide.
My experience was with 140gr VLD in a 7mm-08AI. Shot was 413 yards ranged, broadside.
Doe turned 180°, and made it 20 yards, somehow.
Area she was shot, looked like i shot a full can of red paint. Blood everywhere!
Entrance hole. Again, both lungs & heart destroyed! Jacket found under offside hide.
If you use the VLDs, pick your shot!
They don't like trying to go through bone, like a shoulder shot.
Daughters was 115gr, 25 caliber out of my 257 Roberts. Shot was about 70 yards.
"He just kinda puffed up, went straight legged, and fell over".
Broadside entrance hole. Both lungs & heart utterly destroyed. Found jacket under offside hide.
My experience was with 140gr VLD in a 7mm-08AI. Shot was 413 yards ranged, broadside.
Doe turned 180°, and made it 20 yards, somehow.
Area she was shot, looked like i shot a full can of red paint. Blood everywhere!
Entrance hole. Again, both lungs & heart destroyed! Jacket found under offside hide.
If you use the VLDs, pick your shot!
They don't like trying to go through bone, like a shoulder shot.
only thing better than the 130vld is the 140vld!
my friends and I shot MANY deer with them.
they are awesome!
Hoping to get to try the 130 gr. out this season. Fingers crossed.
That's all I shoot out of my 6.5X47 Lapua, have killed antelope @ 500+ and several whitetails here in Pa. Most have been bang flops, I did have one two years ago that went approx. 100yds and when we opened him up his insides were liquid. All I can say is I don't know how he went that far. Whitetails never cease to amaze me! 
They shoot consistently well with H-4350 but there are several other powders that work very well. The Lapua is not finicky. The .260 should be very similar. I'm thinking those pro hunters will work as well.
They shoot consistently well with H-4350 but there are several other powders that work very well. The Lapua is not finicky. The .260 should be very similar. I'm thinking those pro hunters will work as well.How was penetration? I tried a Hornady 140 and found it had way too much penetration on white tails. A tad over 300 yards on an angled shot, hit middle left rib cage, broke the right shoulder exiting and kept going.
Completely different bullet.
The Berger VLD goes in 1-3 inches, then has violent expansion.
Notice i didn't say "explodes"!
You might get pass through if the velocity drops below 1,800 fps.
The Nosler Ballistic Tip is another bullet i'd look seriously at for game.
It will produce exit wounds.
And i've blown a fist sized hole through the offside shoulder with the 06' on one at 125 yards.
I didn't realize it was slightly angling away.
hogpatrol
Gold $$ Contributor
Have taken a lot of animals with the 130 VLDH in a 6.5x47, 6.5-284 and 26 Nosler out to 700. They fragment but kill almost instantly. Only ever found one jacket but mostly a bunch of pieces. For whitetails that I'm going to eat, an SST, Partition of Gameking would be my choice.
130 vldh and H414 shoots bug holes from Sako 75v and white tails just crumble
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How about 100 yards or less?
They are not designed for that use them for what they are designed for they are a very good bullet
hogpatrol
Gold $$ Contributor
Only a few at that range but just fragments only and a big exit hole. These are springbok, about the size of a year and a half old deer. Killed that one with a 26 Nosler, IIRC around 400 yards and killed the one standing behind it with the same shot, a springbok twofer with a Berger 130 HVLD.
Took a cull buck and a couple javelina with them a few years ago.
Hit the buck low in the chest, head on at about 80 yards. He ran about 60 yards, out of the field and on to the road. Made for an easy retrieval. When we dressed him out, his entire rib cage was bruised. Boiler room was scrambled.
Both javelinas were hit broadside at around 150 yards. They didn't go anywhere.
Hit the buck low in the chest, head on at about 80 yards. He ran about 60 yards, out of the field and on to the road. Made for an easy retrieval. When we dressed him out, his entire rib cage was bruised. Boiler room was scrambled.
Both javelinas were hit broadside at around 150 yards. They didn't go anywhere.
What kind 9f velocity are you getting with thec120 grain?
The fellow I loaded for didn't like the VLD but I wasn't there to see the shot and you know how that goes.
I didn't like what was IMO too much over penetration of the Hornady 140 at 300 yards+. At the range I was shooting one might think velocity may have been below expansion threshold but not when it broke the far side shoulder. IMO the 140 interlock is for heavier game.
The 129 gets move velocity at the muzzle and seems to work well, broad side shots exit with a decent exit wound at 225 yards.
I load my 6.5x55 to maximum Swedish pressures not the SAAMI standard.
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